Suspended Vanderbilt player due to appear in court Friday

Sep. 11, 2013

Chris Boyd

Written by

Duane W. Gang

The Tennessean

Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd, currently suspended from the team as he faces charges stemming from his role in the aftermath of an alleged campus rape, is due in court on Friday, records show.

Boyd is scheduled to go before Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier for a discussion hearing at 9 a.m., according to online court records.

Boyd is charged as an accessory after the fact and accused of taking part in an attempted cover-up of a June 23 sexual assault by helping one of the defendants indicted on charges of raping an unconscious 21-year-old woman.

The Roswell, Ga., junior was suspended from the team after the indictment and has pleaded not guilty.

Neither Boyd’s attorney, Roger May, nor the district attorney’s office could be immediately reached late Tuesday for comment about the upcoming hearing.

All of the charges stem from an incident inside the Gillette Hall dormitory on June 23. University officials discovered it two days later when they saw four football players acting suspiciously on hallway surveillance-camera footage while investigating an unrelated matter, police have said.

Brandon Vandenburg, 20, from Indio, Calif.; Cory Batey, 19, of Nashville; Brandon Eric Banks, 19, from Brandywine, Md.; and Jaborian McKenzie, 18, from Woodville, Miss., are each charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg also is charged with one count of unlawful photography and tampering with evidence.

All have pleaded not guilty and are due to appear in court on Sept. 19 before Judge Monte Watkins.

Also facing charges in the case are Miles Finley, 19, of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., and Joseph Quinzio, 20, of Palm Desert, Calif. They were high school teammates and friends of Vandenburg and are both accused of tampering with evidence after the alleged rapes occurred. Both are fighting extradition to Tennessee.